


Love is Not a Candle

by TheMatraPseudoBiblica



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: i am ignoring vital info and i don't care, thrawn is a sith, twinsverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-17
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 11:57:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3380636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMatraPseudoBiblica/pseuds/TheMatraPseudoBiblica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes life throws you for a curve. Sometimes, you bounce back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love is Not a Candle

Love is Not a Candle

With a pensive expression and a glass of wine in hand, Sidious considered the case of the young Chiss commander. Kinman Doriana had run across him in the course of his mission to destroy the colonizing vessel Outbound Flight. From his studies on the Unknown Regions, he knew that the Chiss existed, but he had not imagined that one would interfere with his task force. Of course, the pig-headedness shown by the Neimoidian Captain whom he had sent with Kinman was to be expected, but he had hoped that he would find some tactical sense.  
Sidious’ face split in a feral smile as he thought of the young Chiss’s brilliant tactics. Taking a sip of the wine, he mused gently on the repercussions of the attack. If Outbound Flight was allowed to slip away, the Neimoidian would pay with his life. However, he might still need an operative like Kinman Doriana, ostensibly the Supreme Chancellor’s aide, but in actuality one of his most capable agents. Should this Commander Mitth'rawn'nourodo decide to help him, the whole thing could come off without a hitch, but should he decide against it…  
Sidious frowned. For almost sixty years, he had lived in the Force, if only at the most basic level. He and his weakling twin had always been able to sense power and to affect the world, but he had only ever encountered one other disturbance such as the one swirling around this alien. The other was the child Anakin Skywalker. Fascinating.  
There was no doubt that the Chiss Commander had the Force. It would explain some of his accomplishments. Sidious swirled the wine in his glass. A potential ally was always useful, but this Mitth’rawn’nourodo would not be easy to bring over. Living in the Force, Sidious knew Mitth’rawn’nourodo understood that Sidious had great power, but he also saw that there was no good for his people, to whom he was ultimately loyal, in an alliance.  
Sidious hated it when he could not manipulate someone.  
This Chiss was iron-clad, he had sensed it. There was nothing he desired more than safety for his people and for anyone else he cared about. His own life came second to that.  
There are ways, Sidious mused. If there was a way to manipulate love and loyalty into hate and betrayal in this Chiss, it would be worth doing, if only to have an exotic species in his DNA collection when the Chiss failed and had to be eliminated.

Almost a year after the conclusion of the Outbound Flight incident, Sidious was sitting in his usual chair, staring into the depths of the fire. The Dark Side, Bogan, was sulking at him. Should have killed that bloody Sullustan, as his instincts had told him to. It would have kept Bogan happy.  
Sidious made a face. The problem with the Dark Side was that it was fickle and much more self-conscious than her sister Ashla, the Light Side, just like a human lady. However, once charmed and won, she never left and her power was unlimited.  
Finally, Sidious won over Bogan’s sulk and received one of his vivid visions in return. A planet in the unknown regions, full of dark power and covered over in deadly jungle. It would be a perfect place for a Sith Temple. Which is what it was. Jerrjerrodia, the home of the ancient Sith Lord Darth Machinatus, a very dangerous spot in which to be.  
Sidious probed the vision and was rewarded with a view of the blue-skinned near-human, Mitth'rawn'nourodo. What was that one doing on Jerrjerrodia?  
Sidious coaxed more from the ether. A betrayal, a trial, exile.  
The ends of Sidious’ mouth curved upward into a V-shaped smile that was oddly reminiscent of another man’s. This was very good indeed.

Chancellor Palpatine hated it when his twin came to visit.  
It was never a social call. It was never a marking of their shared birthday. He never came over just to eat supper and trade quips. He always came over because he wanted something, and the elderly Chancellor would always say no.  
He had to say no.  
Chancellor Palpatine was painfully aware of the fact that his twin did not love him. Had known it since they were much younger. However, he loved his twin. No matter what the other did, he still loved his brother.   
I am an old fool, Palpatine thought to himself. I still want to believe he could be saved.  
Years and years ago they had been happy children on Naboo. Now, Sidious, as his twin brother called himself, should be put under arrest and carted off to the most secure prison in existence. And yet… Whenever Sidious came through Palpatine’s door, there was no thought of calling the authorities in his mind. There was just a deep-seated relief that his twin was still alive.  
Naturally, Palpatine knew the instant that his twin entered the Office of the Chancellor. A prickle went up and down his spine and he felt as if a shadow had passed over the sun. Palpatine knew it was the Force. In spite of his brother’s assertions, he could use it with some rudimentary skill, but he tried to eschew it whenever possible.  
As soon as Palpatine felt his hair raise itself to attention, he glanced up. Yes, there he was. Palpatine put down his stylus. “I assume you want something?”  
Sidious grinned and lifted his cowl just enough so that Palpatine could see his face. “Don’t I always?”  
“What is it?”  
“Not what you’re thinking.”  
Palpatine picked up his stylus again. “No.”  
“It’s nothing bad or corrupt.”  
“No.”  
“I need your help.”  
“No.”  
“How’s the old machine holding up?”  
“N-what? How am I doing? Fine, just fine.”  
“For a politician, you’re a terrible liar.”  
Palpatine ruffled up his feathers and became defensive. “So I’m not as young as I used to be.”  
Sidious replaced the cowl. “Ever thought of having someone with you?”  
Palpatine suspiciously laid the stylus down. “What are you saying?”  
“I need you to look after someone for me.”  
“Someone.”  
“Oh, he’d earn his keep. He can defend himself and act as a bodyguard in addition to any duties you assign. He has some medical training. And I’m willing to stake my reputation on his skill.”  
Palpatine gave his brother the evil eye. “Is this a trick?”  
Sidious whistled. Suddenly, Palpatine felt a disturbance and leapt up, spinning to connect with someone’s arm. A blue hand clamped down on his elbow and a second whirled around to twist the elderly man over and around so that he was completely neutralized.  
Palpatine struggled futilely and then gave up. “Okay, you win. Call him off.”  
Sidious raised a brow. “I don’t command him. He reacted to something you did. You call him off.”  
Palpatine bit his lip. “Hello? Please let go.”  
The blue hands released. “I apologize for my rough handling. You move faster than I assumed you would, Chancellor.” The blue-skinned alien moved around the desk and stood beside Sidious.  
Palpatine patted and smoothed down his robes. “Yes, well I surprise myself sometimes.” Much flustered and in disarray, Palpatine sat back down. “Are you the mysterious ‘someone’?”  
The alien bowed. “I am.”  
Palpatine glanced at Sidious. “May I speak to you in private, dear brother?”  
Sidious nodded towards the door and the alien left. “What is it, brother dear?”  
“Who is this? Where did you find him? Is he in some trouble? How did he fall in with you?”  
Sidious shook his head. “So many questions. So few answers that I can give. His name is Mitth'rawn'nourodo and he used to be a commander of an exploratory base. Only a few months ago, he was exiled to a planet called Jerrjerrodia, where he would almost certainly have died if I hadn’t rescued him. I believe I just answered all your questions.”  
Palpatine gave him a glare. “Why was he exiled?”  
“He used his military force in an inappropriate manner to neutralize a threat that had not yet struck. Since the threat had not yet become dangerous in the opinion of the high command, he was basically tossed off.”  
Palpatine pursed his lips. “Why should I attach a criminal to my household?”  
“Because you owe me for aiding your advancement and you won’t repay me in anything political.”  
Palpatine knew he was caught. “Fine. I will, but I will not have him for a nurse, and I will not tell him anything that could help you.”  
“You wound me. Do you really think I would place a spy in your household?”  
“Two words: Kinman Doriana.”  
Sidious grinned. “I never could fool you.”  
Palpatine sighed. “Go away and send Commander Mitth'rawn'nourodo in.”  
“Hmm, you can actually pronounce it on the first try. That’s an accomplishment.” Then he was gone and the blue-skinned alien was sent back in.  
Palpatine glared at his latest problem. As if he didn’t have enough on his plate already.

Thrawn had been glad to be rescued from Jerrjerrodia. He had known perfectly well that he wouldn’t have lasted more than a few days without help. However, he had not expected the Sith Lord who had met him to come, in person, and ask for his help.  
The request had been nothing more than a formality. Thrawn had no choice and he knew it. There had been medical tests that Sidious had submitted him to and physical tests that didn’t always make sense to Thrawn. Especially when Sidious told him that he had the potential to become a Sith Acolyte. That hadn’t made any sense at all. “I don’t have the Force. I’ve never been able to do anything like you can.”  
Sidious moved in a blur. Thrawn, with his usual skill, had dodged away and Sidious had stopped in the exact place that Thrawn had been standing only moments before. “Now, what made you move?”  
Thrawn had stood up from the floor and glared at Sidious. “Why did you do that?”  
“Answer the question.”  
Thrawn had had to stop and think. No, he hadn’t seen Sidious move. He had known he was going to move. “I knew. Why did I know?”  
“It’s the Force. It helps those who can use it.”  
When Thrawn had looked down at his hands, they were shaking. “Then… What do I do?”  
“Train of course. Learn to channel power.”  
Thrawn glared. “You make it sound so easy.”  
“Of course it will not be, and I can’t train you to be a true Sith. There can only be two of those. However, as an Acolyte, you could be an assistant if not a Sith yourself.” Sidious extended a hand and beckoned. “Come with me. I have a gift for you.”  
Thrawn was suspicious of gifts, but the decorated metal tubes seemed innocuous enough. He took one in each hand and looked down at the controls. “What are these?”  
“Press the buttons just above your thumbs.”  
Thrawn did and immediately dropped the cylinders like hot potatoes as a pair of red bars of plasma sprouted from them. “What are those?”  
“Lightsabers. Later, I’ll teach you to build your own. After you have proved yourself worthy of such learning. Until then, you need to be physically conditioned and trained to use these.” A mysterious expression crossed Sidious’ face. “I have an idea of where your talents would be put to the best use.”

Thrawn had trained hard for four months without ceasing. Sidious had taught him to deny himself basic necessities for days at a time and his lightsaber sessions were composed of both taxing drills and brutal lightsaber duels.  
Thrawn had been in bacta, a healing liquid that sped up the healing rate of a living being, four times during the first week, and patches of the healing substance were regularly applied when he finally finished his exercises and was allowed to sleep.  
The Force was an elusive subject for Thrawn, but he mastered and refined the basics of the Sith arts before the deadline.  
Sidious had elaborated on what Thrawn was expected to do in Sidious’ grand plan. “You are to become a member of the Supreme Chancellor’s household. My twin brother is getting old and without the training that keeps me in condition, his body is wearing out. An attendant will soon be a necessity, and if that attendant also has training as a bodyguard and with your skills as a secretary and an aide, you can quickly become indispensable. My twin also has the unenviable ability to bond even to people that he should and even desires to hate with all his heart. Even if he doesn’t trust you, I assure you that he will develop a paternal bond to you. I encourage you to reciprocate any such bonding, but be aware that you are a Sith Acolyte. Having such emotions is not a disadvantage, but remember what your mission is.”  
Thrawn knew what Sidious meant. According to the Sith Lord, every Dark Side user had only one goal: To serve the Grand Plan.  
Thrawn had realized long before then that after his usefulness was at an end, Sidious would kill him. However, he had a very strong desire to learn about this power that he held within himself and he was confident that he could read the writing on the wall in time to escape.  
Now, he was sitting in a chair across from Sidious’ twin brother, and for some reason, he felt awful.  
Sidious had never mentioned that his brother could fix a man with a look that would make him feel guilty, even if he hadn’t done anything particularly bad yet.  
Thrawn didn’t fidget, but it took all of his self-control to avoid doing so.  
Palpatine kept his eyes on him in that fixed, world-weary gaze. Neither one moved or spoke for a very long time.  
Finally, the Chancellor sighed. “Are you hungry or do you need anything?”  
Thrawn shook his head. “I have already been provided for.”  
“Do you want to rest? I have some work to do yet, but there is a cot in my preparation room.”  
Thrawn shook his head again. “No, I’m not tired right now. I’ll just sit here. If that’s permissible.”  
Palpatine gave him a look. “Well… Yes, that’s fine. Do you want to read the news? I have the latest copy of Coruscant Times on this datapad.”  
Thrawn accepted the datapad and began reading. Palpatine wrote the last of the diplomatic letter he had been working on, read several reports, and finally ended by sitting and staring at Thrawn.  
Thrawn looked up and met the sympathetic blue eyes.   
Palpatine stood. “Come, I’ll take you home.”

Sidious grinned to himself. It was perfect. His Acolyte’s confused regret and determination to please him was perfect. His brother’s pity of Thrawn was perfect. And, of course, his plan was right on schedule. That was also perfect. It had all gone off so well… Which worried Sidious. Usually, there was some element that hadn’t fitted into place so perfectly. Something that would niggle and cause him to have to revise a plan or two.  
Sidious frowned. His Acolyte was doing all he had been instructed to do. His pathetic twin had taken him back to his luxe penthouse in 500 Republica, and was probably settling the Chiss into a medium-sized bedroom. No apologies for not expecting him. How could he have? A sigh of disapproval over the purposefully inadequate wardrobe was most likely coming from his twin. There would be a final polite greeting, and Palpatine would go straight to bed with one of his customary, twin-induced headaches.  
Sidious pursed his pale lips. He would contact Thrawn as soon as he was sure that Palpatine had gone to bed.

Thrawn accepted the call from his secret comlink. “My Lord?”  
“Acolyte. Is my brother asleep?”  
Thrawn reached out clumsily into the bedroom and checked. “Very much so. He complained of a headache and I made him some mint and chamomile tea.”  
“You will find that whenever I make contact with my twin, he complains of these headaches later in the evening.”  
Thrawn nodded. “I will remember.”  
“Your insertion went off without a hitch. Is all well?”  
“Yes, My Lord. The Chancellor has resigned himself to my presence.”  
“Resignation is his first step to fondness. Keep on. Be civil and follow orders.”  
“I will, My Lord.”  
“Report to the safe building in the Works tomorrow afternoon while Palpatine is at the Senate. While your assignment has begun, it is no excuse for allowing yourself to fall out of shape.”  
Thrawn nodded. “I will, My Lord. Permission to speak freely?”  
“Granted.”  
“Your brother has seen right through me. He knows that I am a spy for you. He does not trust me. How is this success?”  
Sidious sighed. For a tactical genius, Thrawn could be thick when it came to people. Either that, or Sidious was just used to his brother’s way of thinking. “He will begin to trust you later. When he grows fond of a person, he can’t help but trust them.”  
“I will have to take your word for it, My Lord.”  
Sidious disconnected and sat back. He knew his brother, or so he thought. Could the pathetic one yet surprise him? No, probably not.

Thrawn and Palpatine had a fairly strict routine in relation to each other. Except for meals and an evening debriefing, Palpatine avoided Thrawn, and Thrawn tried to keep near the Chancellor without being obtrusive.  
Of course, it would have to come out that Thrawn was more than Sidious had said. It happened after a particularly rough training session. Sidious had burned Thrawn several times with his lightsaber and Thrawn could hardly move without showing his agony.  
When Thrawn had made it back to the apartment, it was midnight and Thrawn didn’t expect the Chancellor to be waiting for him.   
“Where have you been?”  
Thrawn had been so focused on keeping himself together, that he hadn’t realized that Palpatine was in the foyer. “I- I was out.”  
“I know that. Who gave you those wounds?”  
Thrawn sighed. He had thought that he had hidden it sufficiently to fool his unwilling benefactor. “Sidious.”  
Palpatine herded Thrawn into the kitchen and brought out a package of bacta patches. The moment that he saw the leaking sores under Thrawn’s jacket, he hissed, “Lightsaber burns.”  
Thrawn nodded. “Lightsaber burns.”  
Palpatine sighed and shook his head. “What did I get myself into?” he muttered. “All right, here’s what I’m going to do. There’s not enough bacta patches here to cover all of this area. I’m going to send for some more tomorrow, but I can’t get them tonight or someone will get suspicious. My regular deliveries come tomorrow as it is the weekend and it will be easy to pass off the bacta patches as replacing a depleted supply. Will this be a regular occurrence?”  
Thrawn nodded. “I’m sorry. I don’t duel with lightsabers well yet, and Lord Sidious doesn’t really hold back during a session.”  
Palpatine raised his eyes to the ceiling. “Heaven help me. You’re one of his various apprentices.”  
“An Acolyte, actually.”  
“Apprentice, Acolyte, what’s the difference?” Palpatine sighed. “I should turn you in to the Jedi Council, you know that?”  
Thrawn nodded.  
“My reputation would be absolutely destroyed if you were found out.”  
Thrawn nodded, unsure of what Palpatine was saying.   
Palpatine shook his head and muttered. Then, he picked up a bacta patch and began applying it to Thrawn’s shoulder.  
Thrawn was surprised by the soothing touch. “You’re not going to throw me out?”  
Palpatine made a choked sound that was almost a sob. “I’ll patch you up at least, but you might need to find a new place to stay as soon as you can move.”

Palpatine wrapped Thrawn’s uncovered burns in gauze after washing them in a disinfectant. Then, he helped the Chiss to bed and did his best to make him comfortable.  
With a groan, the Chancellor sat beside the bed and waited. “If you live through the night, you should be fine.”  
Thrawn gave him a confused look. “If I live? It’s just a particularly bad set of burns.”  
Palpatine sighed. “When I was still a Senator, Sidious brought one of his Apprentices to me. He was rashed all over with burns like these, though I will admit that they were larger. I wrapped him up and did my best and he died anyway.”  
Thrawn nodded and the old man was left beside him in silence.  
“Why do you follow him?”  
Thrawn opened one eye. “For all my life, I have been different, even from my own brother. My instincts and the way I think are at odds with the ones of the people around me. Until now, I had no reason for it. Sidious offered an answer and the satisfaction of my own curiosity.”  
“He’s evil.”  
“What is evil?”  
Palpatine sighed. “So, he’s gotten you too. Good and evil are a point of view that every person decides for his or herself. Don’t you see how chaotic that can become?”  
“Life is chaos.”  
Palpatine disgustedly snorted and retreated into himself. For forty years, Sidious had been trying to sell him on this, especially after he had confessed to murdering their family.  
Thrawn’s voice pierced Palpatine’s guard. “If you don’t approve of him, why don’t you turn him in?”  
Palpatine looked up. “Because he is my brother, and he is all of the family that I have left.”  
“You never married?”  
“What do I have to offer a woman? My twin violates my boundaries regularly, how can I bring a woman into my life with the constant possibility that he could do something to her?”  
Thrawn blinked slowly. “I never considered that. Lord Sidious usually acts as if other, ordinary people are below his notice for good or bad.”  
Palpatine chuckled harshly. “My twin needs no reason to cause pain. He makes that abundantly clear.” Finally, the Chiss fell into a silent trance and Palpatine continued in his own silent meditations.

Thrawn woke from his trance in the morning to Palpatine opening up the bandages on his skin and placing new bacta patches on the afflicted areas. “I suppose I lived.”  
Palpatine nodded. “There’s always next time.”  
Thrawn looked down at his healed skin. “Could I really have died?”  
“Well, Sidious always talked about Sith healing techniques, but I’ve never seen any of his apprentices use them.”  
“You only believe what you see?”  
Palpatine sighed. “I believe what makes sense. For example: The Sith have a philosophy that pain is strength and wounds are not a weakness, therefore, healing techniques are superfluous at best.”  
Thrawn nodded. “Regardless, the only healing I know how to perform involves a first-aid kit.”  
Palpatine nodded absentmindedly and continued his patching. “The places that were covered with bacta have healed. These others should be done by noon, but you must rest, completely. Don’t get up for anything. I’ll bring some breakfast.”  
Thrawn closed both eyes. “Thank you.”

Thrawn healed and the routine that he and Palpatine had set up continued, but as Palpatine became more and more used to Thrawn’s presence, he became friendly.  
Friendliness grew into fondness and soon Thrawn found that Sidious’ predictions about his twin were entirely correct: Palpatine came to trust Thrawn with his troubles though no classified information. He wasn't a fool, fond or not.  
Palpatine kept a small garden on his balcony. It contained a fish pond the size of a child’s wading pool, a few rosebushes, and several pots of mint and other herbs. This garden was the place where Palpatine began to show his fondness.   
Csilla, Thrawn’s homeworld, was a barren block of ice. Thus, Thrawn knew little about plants and was constantly curious about them. Conversely, Palpatine had grown up surrounded by a people that took pride in their gardens and didn’t mind sharing his knowledge.  
Thrawn had wandered purposely out onto the balcony and watched as Palpatine took note of the blooms on a water hyacinth. “What kind of flower is that?”  
“An Alderaanian water cluster. The first bulbs were a gift from Senator Organa last year. They have since multiplied.” Palpatine caressed a leaf.   
“And these lilies?”  
“A simple Naboo waterlily.” Palpatine began to trim the flowers off of a large peppermint plant. “One should always trim the flowers off of herbal plants. Nothing else to be done, if the leaves are to keep growing in profusion.”  
Thrawn stroked the large flat leaves of a bush. “You love plants.”  
“Yes. I love green and growing things,” Palpatine lifted a cutting of a small bush to his face and breathed in.  
“On my homeworld, nothing grows but lichen and algae and there’s barely any liquid water aboveground.”  
“An ice planet then. Sometimes it’s nice to vacation on one, but I wouldn’t want to live there.”  
Thrawn nodded. “A wise choice.”

 

The Clone Wars began and Thrawn was allowed to take a more active role in the Chancellor’s protection along with the red-robes, his personal bodyguards. As a precaution, he carried a pair of blasters, but his main weapon was his own body and his hard-earned skill with martial arts.  
Often, Thrawn was merely a shadow behind the Supreme Chancellor, but he offered advice when asked.  
Thrawn was walking a respectful pace behind the Chancellor when they were approached by the corpulent Twi’leck Senator, Orn Free Taa.  
Free Taa discussed something that sounded fairly confidential with Palpatine, but Thrawn could hear every word:  
“Do not be afraid, Senator. The army is doing all it can.”  
“But this new threat… A ship with such a weapon on it!”  
“I said ‘do not be afraid.’ There is nothing to fear except for fear itself…”   
Palpatine reassured the frightened Twi’leck and was soon alone with Thrawn again as the Senator waddled away.  
Thrawn quickened his pace and drew abreast of Palpatine. “Sir, permission to speak freely?”  
“Granted.” Palpatine gestured and the rest of the redrobes disappeared. “What is your opinion of Orn Free Taa?”  
“He is an earnest and sincere type, but I would not trust any secret to him. I question the wisdom of your judgment regarding him.”  
Palpatine nodded. “Thank you for your honesty. I have come to question the trust I place in him myself. For a Senator, he can be very indiscreet.”

Sidious was unhappy. Thrawn could tell.  
A vicious slash was barely parried and a jab barely dodged. Whenever Thrawn was this close to dying with every clash of the red plasma blades, it meant that Sidious was angry at someone or something.  
Thrawn raised his blade to block a swinging blow to the head and spun to bring his own blade- Hot pain seared across his shoulder blades.  
“So easily tricked. You may be a tactical genius, Thrawn, but you have so much to learn about lightsaber combat.” Sidious closed down his blade.  
Thrawn assessed the damage done. It was just a scalding sweep; he could walk. Standing, he summoned his own blades to himself and strapped them to his belt.  
Sidious had meandered to a balcony that over-looked the Works and was leaning on the railing. “Come, Thrawn, join me.”  
Thrawn came and stood a pace behind Sidious. “Is something wrong, My Lord?”  
“No, nothing is wrong, and that bothers me. Everything is going too well.”  
Thrawn nodded. “Things are going exactly as planned.”  
Sidious scowled. “Be wary, Thrawn, there is something coming. Something that will decide our fates.”

Palpatine sighed when Thrawn came in. “How bad?”  
Thrawn took off his cloak and jacket. “Not bad. One large burn across the shoulder blades.”  
Palpatine made him sit down on a footstool while he worked on the area with bacta patches. “I wish my twin would stop hurting you so badly during your sessions. I don’t like to have to patch you back up.”  
“I’m getting better, it won’t be long before I can hold my own.” It was a lie and Thrawn knew it, but it seemed to calm Palpatine.  
Palpatine helped Thrawn into bed and arranged the blankets and sheets so that they wouldn’t lie on Thrawn’s back. When he was certain Thrawn was asleep, he patted the Chiss’ cheek and whispered, “I love you, child.”  
Thrawn kept his eyes closed until Palpatine had left the room, but he made sure that the elderly Chancellor barely heard his reply: “I love you, too.”  
Chancellor Palpatine treated Thrawn like he was his own son from that moment on. There was never a time when they were separated by anymore than a door, since Palpatine still didn’t trust Thrawn to come into the Top Secret meetings with him. However, this was less a matter of not trusting Thrawn than of not trusting anyone at this point.

The Bounty Hunter, Cad Bane, made his appearance in Thrawn’s life after the arrest of a Hutt working with the Separatists. From the moment he clapped eyes on him, Thrawn didn’t like him. Not that this was anything new: He didn’t like most of the men and women who served Darth Sidious. However, this hunter also seemed to take an instant disliking to Thrawn. Perhaps because of the circumstances of their meeting.  
Sidious had called Cad Bane to the same building that Thrawn trained in and had ordered him to attack Thrawn. Not only did the attack not succeed, but Thrawn so thoroughly proved his superiority over the bounty hunter that it was inevitable that there should be friction.  
Sidious criticized Thrawn over the way he had handled the hunter after the Duros had received his orders and gone. “You used a little too much power when you used that back-kick to knock him over, and if he had chosen to fire an instant earlier, I would have been out one Acolyte.”  
Thrawn nodded curtly. “I am sorry, My Lord.”  
“No, you’re not. You wanted to humiliate him, and you did it very well.” Sidious paced away towards the balcony. “How is my brother?”  
“Holding up very well, all things considering. I have come to admire his endurance.”  
Sidious snorted. “He has his own strength, but he could have been so much more.”  
Thrawn nodded. “As you say, My Lord, but he has done well for himself.”  
Sidious turned his head a few degrees within his concealing cowl. “You sound fond of him.”  
Thrawn remained silent and did not answer.  
“Remember what you are here for.” Sidious seemed to consider something. “We must find a way to get him off of Coruscant and out from that protective circle of bodyguards.”  
“An invasion on a small scale could distract the Jedi and the clones enough for a small team of elite droids to take him prisoner, but what would be done then?”  
Sidious chuckled and then tossed off his cowl for the first time in front of Thrawn.  
Thrawn leapt back as he realized the truth. Not only were Sidious and Palpatine twins, they were identical twins, and to Thrawn’s eyes, there was no difference between one and the other.  
“This has always been my secret weapon,” Sidious gestured to his face. “This is the key to my ultimate plan. And I believe I know how to use it, now. You have given me a very valuable idea, my Acolyte.”  
“Thank you, My Lord.” Thrawn turned away. “It is late and Palpatine will worry for me. May I be dismissed?”  
“Yes, yes, go on. I will contact you with instructions soon. Needless to say, if you wake up alone in my twin’s apartment one morning, be prepared for some fairly radical changes.”

Thrawn found Palpatine sitting in his usual position. “Ah, Thrawn, you’re back. I see that there are no wounds tonight. Easy session?”  
“No, merely a different kind,” Thrawn hung up his cloak on a peg. “Palpatine…”  
“Yes, my boy?”  
“Nothing.” Thrawn held his tongue in check, but he couldn’t help but think of Sidious’ words. “If you wake up alone in my twin’s apartment one morning, be prepared for some fairly radical changes.”  
“Is something bothering you?” Palpatine put down his datapad.  
“No,” Thrawn tugged at his filthy over-boots while standing. “If you wake up alone in my twin’s apartment one morning…”  
“Sit down before you fall down and take those boots off properly.”  
Thrawn sat down on the floor and strained with the stubborn garment. “If you wake up alone in my twin’s apartment…”  
Palpatine shook his head. “You’ll never get them off that way. Wiggle your foot inside the boot and slowly work it off. Rubber to flesh cohesion beats brute strength any day.”  
Thrawn grunted and made a distinct effort to do as Palpatine said. “If you wake up alone in my twin’s…”  
Palpatine knelt down beside Thrawn and pulled his head around so that he could look into his red eyes. “There’s something wrong. What is it? You can tell me anything.”  
Thrawn was barely aware of his hands bursting into flame and the rubber of his boots melting off to puddle on the floor. “No I can’t.” “If you wake up alone…”  
Palpatine leapt back and Thrawn bolted. As he rounded the corner and escaped into his room, a tapestry that he brushed against burst into flame. Not caring that the flesh of his fingers was blistering from the heat of his barely-controlled pyromancy, Thrawn stared into the flames. “If you wake…”

Palpatine dropped the tapestry to the floor and stomped out the flames. His cleaning droid, one of the few he owned, was rushing in to aid him. Abandoning the droid to battle the melted rubber, he rushed to Thrawn’s room and used the Force to unlock the door.  
Thrawn was sitting in the center of a whirlwind of Force power. As Palpatine watched, his wardrobe was flung open and anything loose was sent spiraling around the room.  
Though his twin would have sneered had he claimed it, Palpatine was perfectly capable of using the Force when he wanted to. Summoning power, Palpatine stopped the wind and dropped various items that were flying around to the floor.   
Thrawn was so still that he could have been a statue. The flames dancing over his palms and fingers were the only things that moved. Palpatine laid his own hands over the flames and extinguished them. The hands beneath would have been beyond repair only a few centuries ago, but liquid bacta from Palpatine’s new and improved first-aid kit sunk into the baked flesh and began its work. Palpatine took out a painkilling injection and inserted the needle into Thrawn’s wrist. A different tool sloughed off the irreparable flesh, and more bacta was allowed to soak into the raw flesh barely surrounding Thrawn’s hand and finger bones. Palpatine wrapped the damaged appendages in gauze and cleaned the mess made during the repair work. In all that time, Thrawn never moved.  
Palpatine looked into his patient’s face and saw that holding his hands so close to it had badly sunburned the skin. Foregoing the modern medicines in his kit, Palpatine went out to his balcony and broke a spiky leaf off of one of his favorite plants.  
Thrawn was decidedly unhelpful as Palpatine applied the soothing liquid that flowed out of the aloe to his face. Every time that Palpatine released him, he went back to the same position with his head hunched over his bandaged hands.  
Palpatine wrestled and pulled Thrawn out of his ruined clothes and into a set of soft pajamas. As he did, he became ever more aware of aches and pains in his back and shoulders that wouldn’t have been there five years ago. Have I grown so old so fast? He asked himself.  
Finally, Palpatine wrestled Thrawn into the bed and tucked him in. Collapsing into a newly righted chair, Palpatine fell asleep from sheer exhaustion almost immediately.

Thrawn woke with his hands still on fire, or at least that’s what they felt like. In reality, it was simply that the pain medication had worn off.  
Palpatine was asleep in a chair nearby and had barely begun to stir.  
“Good morning,” Thrawn politely greeted the Chancellor.  
Palpatine massaged a crick out of his neck. “My dear boy, it is never a good morning when one wakes up in a chair. Sleeping in chairs is very uncomfortable.”  
Thrawn smiled. “Bad morning, then.”  
“That’s a bit better.” Palpatine sighed. “Has the pain killer worn off?”  
“Yes, I’m afraid, but it’s not bad.”  
Palpatine picked up the large, stoic box that held the medical supplies he had acquired for such emergencies. “Liar. I had to strip your hands practically to the bone last night. Why in the world did my twin teach you pyromancy?”  
“He didn’t,” Thrawn hissed as the gauze bandages were clipped away, but the second dose of drugs soon numbed the afflicted area. “I figured it out.”  
Palpatine looked skeptically down at Thrawn’s palms. “Yes, this will take quite a bit of time to heal, and it may never fully recover.”  
Thrawn made himself look down. Even after the application of liquid bacta, his palms were raw and the new skin and flesh barely covered the outlines of his bones. “That looks awful, to be frank.”  
Palpatine sighed. “There’s nothing more I can do. You need a reconstruction expert.”  
Thrawn shook his head. “If I went to an expert, I would have to explain how this happened.”  
“It’s a choice isn’t it?”  
Thrawn sighed. “You could be ruined.”  
Palpatine shrugged. “You will be crippled.”  
Thrawn looked down at his palms. “No, they are painful, but I can still use them, I believe. There is very little muscle in the hand.”  
Palpatine stood. “Very well, but we must do something about it, or people will wonder what happened.” He thought for a moment. “I know, padded therapeutic gloves should do the trick. I will schedule an appointment with my tailor.”

The next morning Thrawn stood outside the study while Palpatine made a call to his excellent tailor.   
The tailor was a woman of immense skill and discretion. She had been in Palpatine’s employ for years.  
“Something horrible must have happened to you if you need gloves like these,” the tailor remarked.  
Thrawn held out his hands and watched as the young woman began her work in a dark blue silk that exactly matched his skin color.  
“These will be crude by my standards, unfortunately. I will make better ones when I have time and my proper tools. As usual, I will not mention this to anyone.”  
“Thank you, Delanian,” Palpatine spoke with his relief evident.  
Thrawn sighed as Delanian filled in the fingers and palms of the therapeutic insert to a perfect balance. “That feels much better.”  
Delanian grasped Thrawn’s left hand and squeezed. She nodded approvingly to herself. “Yes, even a doctor wouldn’t know if there was an insert in here or not.”  
Standing, Delanian nodded to Palpatine. “I have the measures I need. How many pairs and of what kind?”  
Palpatine thought to himself before speaking, “Six for everyday, one with extreme durability, and two for the opera.”  
The tailor nodded. “Firegems for the opera gloves?”  
“A tad flashy, don’t you think?”  
“I agree, but the color would offset his skin very well.”  
“Do as you wish,” Palpatine and the tailor bowed to each other and she was gone.

Palpatine looked down at Thrawn. “How do they feel?”  
Thrawn was moving his fingers and clenching and unclenching his fists. “Amazing, I can hardly feel any pain at all.”  
Palpatine sat across from Thrawn. “All right. Now, what caused you to go off like that last night? I could sense your turmoil without trying.”  
Thrawn fiddled with one of the buttons on his gloves. “I was upset.”  
“By what?”  
Palpatine watched as Thrawn wrestled with himself. Palpatine sighed and stood. “It’s all right. It’s probably none of my business.”  
Just as Palpatine reached the door, Thrawn spoke. “Sidious is going to kidnap you and take your place eventually.”

Thrawn could sense that Palpatine had frozen at the door. “He told me last night and showed me his face. It was the first time I had seen him with his cowl off.”  
Palpatine’s slow, even footsteps came back around to the chair he had just left. “Yes, I have always known that that was part of his plan.”  
Thrawn’s jaw dropped. “You’ve known? But what have you done to prevent it? Is there anything? We are at war and Sidious already commands the Separatists. If he commanded the Republic as well, he could do anything he wanted to.”  
Palpatine sighed and he took on the look of a man who had lived for thousands of years. “Thrawn, you haven’t yet realized it, but my twin already can do anything he wants to. Every victory is balanced by a defeat on both sides of this playing board. A Supreme Chancellor is not an important piece in his game anymore. The Generals matter now and all I can do is try to counteract his agents in the Senate.”  
“But…”   
Palpatine sighed again. “Thrawn, do you realize how helpless I am in this matter? Sidious is more powerful than any Jedi. All I can do is wait and hope that something happens in my favor. No one can stand against him.”  
Thrawn didn’t believe it. There had to be something. “No, I’m not going to allow it.”  
Palpatine shrugged. “Do what you wish, but I do not believe that you can prevent anything that Sidious decides to do.”

Thrawn began carrying his lightsaber home after each training session. It was risky to keep it in Palpatine’s apartment, but it was his only effective weapon against Sidious aside from his pyromancy, which he was honing privately and taking great care to keep secret.  
The tailor’s gloves were a miracle and worked to keep Thrawn’s hands from pain like a charm. He wore a pair at all times and even learned to sleep in the heavy-duty gloves which were made of thick, black leather and reinforced with polymers.  
Thrawn took to sneaking into Palpatine’s room to sleep on a couch near the bed. In short, his life began to revolve around whether the Chancellor was safe or not. This hyper-vigilance attracted the notice of the Chancellor’s normal cadre of bodyguards and some of the Jedi that Thrawn met in the course of his job as a personal bodyguard and aide. During this period, which lasted some five months, Sidious kept silent except for the regular status reports.

It was on one of the days that the Chancellor was out of Thrawn’s sight that he began to wonder about his own abilities to guard the Chancellor.  
Thrawn was always restless when he wasn’t right beside the Chancellor, and the evening of the Damani dinner was no exception, but there was nothing he could do about it. He wandered through the house, picking up the Chancellor’s Force signature until he had walked himself to exhaustion.

Thrawn woke up to a familiar face hovering over him. “Well now, isn’t this a surprise.”  
Thrawn leapt up to attention. He was sleeping across the bed in the master bedroom and had no idea how he had ended up there.  
Sidious smirked. “Report, Acolyte.”  
Thrawn was shaking badly the moment that Sidious was gone. The appearance of a life sign as small as that of an insect usually had him on instant alert, but somehow Sidious had snuck up on him so well that it had taken him completely off-guard. Fast asleep, in fact.  
Against an enemy that he could not sense, what chance did he stand?  
Thrawn was still shaking when the Chancellor came home.  
“Well, you look very shaken up. Did you see a ghost?”  
Thrawn gave Palpatine the details of his encounter with Sidious. As was usual, the Chancellor seemed unconcerned. “I warned you that he was powerful.”  
Thrawn snapped. “How can you be so calm? Don’t you understand that Sidious doesn’t care about you at all? If he succeeds, you’re dead!”  
Palpatine spread his hands. “My life is of little importance. I have seen what is to be, and it will be rife with struggle, but will ultimately give way to good.”  
Thrawn turned away and clenched his fists to keep them from igniting. “But what if there is a way to prevent the strife?”  
Palpatine shook his head. “I don’t know, Thrawn. I honestly don’t know.”  
“Blind acceptance of fate has never been my way. There must be a way to undo the future you see and to make it better in some way, no matter how small.”  
Palpatine sighed and left their debate at that.

Sidious kept an eye on his brother and Thrawn by means of the Force. If all went well, he should be done with at least one of them before another month passed, and if all went according to his visions, then soon his Acolyte might be truly refined into a Sith potential.

Thrawn didn’t even bother to hide the fact that he was sleeping on Palpatine’s sofa from the Chancellor. He couldn’t care less about what Palpatine thought, and the elderly Chancellor had no interest in stopping him.  
Making restless patrols in the middle of the night was another thing that Thrawn became accustomed to doing. His heavy duty gloves never left his hands, and one of his lightsabers was always on his person in his heavy, black boots. He had fallen back on military styles and wore white or black jackets with practical sleeves, knee-high boots, and pants that tucked into his boots.  
Sidious noticed and made mention of it during the course of one of Thrawn’s status reports, but he seemed to conclude that it was a result of Bogan’s own restlessness.

Palpatine watched Thrawn with sad, hooded eyes. There was really nothing he could do, but he wished the boy would calm himself. He was at peace with the fact that he would die, had known that he was quickly deteriorating for some time now, but Thrawn could not accept that. Perhaps it was time to let him in on a secret that Palpatine had kept for a long time.

Thrawn was surrounded by an aura of flames. His mere presence melted the metal around him and his skin was beginning to show the effects of heat. He was standing in the heart of the building that had been his training center for almost three years and had summoned more ethereal flames than he ever had before.  
The heat was baking and burning away Thrawn’s skin, but he didn’t notice. Tears boiled and evaporated off of his cheeks and his skin cracked. Suddenly, a wave of Force power like a candle-snuffer washed over him and Sidious had entered. “Idiot. What are you doing?”  
Thrawn looked down at himself, now that the flames which fed off of his power were gone, he could feel the burns he had inflicted upon himself. “Letting off steam.”  
Sidious gave Thrawn an up and down glare. “You could have killed yourself. Come here.”  
Sidious undid the damage Thrawn had done to himself and then gave him a disgusted glare. “What were you thinking?”  
Thrawn gave him a sullen look. “I told you, I was blowing off steam.”  
“What made you that upset? Do you have any idea of how much heat you were letting off? You could have melted through the floor. Pyromancy is too dangerous to play with!” Sidious went on and on with his lecture and Thrawn tuned him out.

Now that Thrawn knew, it was easy to see the signs. Palpatine constantly moved stiffly and would not sit on a bare wooden chair. Like a plant, he moved with the sun throughout his rooms, when he had the luxury of a vacation from his work, and he never seemed warm enough. No wonder he wore his heavy robes of office all the time.  
Morphing from the role of a bodyguard to that of an armed caretaker was easier for Thrawn than he had thought. It was simple to notice when Palpatine was having difficulty with something.  
Thrawn spread a soft afghan over Palpatine’s shoulders one evening. “Why didn’t I sense it before?”  
Palpatine pulled the fabric around himself. “I hide it well, or I used to.”  
Thrawn sat down on the carpet in front of Palpatine’s chair, gently resting his back against the fragile shins. “How long?”  
“A few more months at most.”  
“What will you do?”  
Palpatine sighed. “Hand the reigns over to my brother.”  
“Why? Why don’t you step down?”  
“Then Sidious would unleash the full force of his armies and his own power to destroy far more than this war has. I am really trying to save as many lives as possible.”  
Thrawn stared into the air, but blinked and came back to himself when Palpatine laid one cool hand on his crown and smoothed down the hyacinthine locks that grew there. “Is there nothing that can be done?”  
“Nothing.”  
“Why did you agree to take me in? It wasn’t just that you owed Sidious, was it?”  
“No, it was not. I am a lonely, old man, and the mistakes you were making made me pity you.”  
“Mistakes?”  
“Following the dark path that my twin took. He escaped this slow fall into death through his own dark arts, but it cost him his humanity.”  
Thrawn rested his head back against a bony knee. “How do you keep going?”  
“I’m defiant. I can’t give in.”  
Thrawn closed his eyes and smiled. “You act very compliant most of the time.”  
“Yes, act is the proper word.”

Thrawn rested against a wall. After a sleepless night, he had been following the Chancellor around the residence of the delegation from Toydaria all day and something had to give, either Palpatine’s feet, or Thrawn’s legs.  
Finally, Thrawn could sense that Palpatine had to rest and heard him ask the Toydarian delegation to excuse him.  
The “king” ordered a servant to escort Palpatine and Thrawn to a plush sleeping room hung with two hammocks and with a sofa in a corner. Almost as soon as the door closed behind them, Palpatine sagged onto the sofa and put his feet up.  
Thrawn knelt beside the low sofa and watched as Palpatine pushed off the gel-cushioned slippers that had replaced his usual shoes a month ago. His own hands were encased in a pair of white opera gloves with a firegem stud surrounded by silver embroidery in the center of each back. “It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”  
Palpatine nodded. “I don’t think I can bear much more of this running around.”  
Thrawn stood. “I will tell the “most illustrious King of Toydaria” that you are too tired to continue the tour with the other members of the Senate.”  
Palpatine waved him off. “No, don’t. We need Toydaria as an ally. I can’t afford to offend the king.”  
Thrawn sighed. “You’re killing yourself faster by doing this.” He took one of Palpatine’s hands in his and counted off his heartbeats.  
Palpatine was asleep by the time Thrawn finished his count, and the Chiss sighed. One of the hammocks had deep blue cushions and a bright yellow coverlet and the tired young man curled up in the rocking piece of furniture.

Thrawn woke to something sickly sweet smelling. He had time for one thought before the gas took him: Sidious.

After a short rest, the Chancellor rejoined the king on his tour, but his young, alien escort was not with him. The Chancellor explained that Thrawn had complained of a headache and gone home. “He has bad ones sometimes.”  
The tour went on without a hitch and the king was satisfied with every detail of the exhibition of his home.

Thrawn woke a second time strapped down to a bed with an array of electronics around his head. He stared around and reached for the Force. The straps fell away and Thrawn stood. In a bed nearby, Palpatine was still sleeping off the effects of the gas.  
Thrawn noticed that his gloves were gone and his mutilated palms were bared, but he soon noticed both his opera gloves and his lightsabers on a table nearby and picked them up. Igniting the blades, he assured himself that there was nothing wrong before tucking them into his belt.  
In every cranny, Sidious’ Force signature blazed, and Thrawn knew that he had failed. Sidious would probably kill them both.

Sidious appeared a few minutes before Palpatine woke. “Well, well, well. You have had an eventful day, my twin.”  
Palpatine rolled his eyes. “Always dramatic.”  
“Oh, don’t be that way. Not when I’m trying to make my peace with you.”  
Palpatine’s eyes flicked to Thrawn. “Oh? And how will you make your peace with me? With lightning? Poison? Or just your bare hands?”  
“On the contrary, I’m not going to kill you.” Sidious rounded on Thrawn. “He will.”

Thrawn jumped. What had Sidious just said? “No, I’m not going to.”  
Sidious smiled his wicked smile. “Oh, yes you will.”  
Thrawn recovered himself. “And why will I do that?”  
“Because if you don’t, I will, and I will make it the most excruciatingly painful thing you have ever witnessed.” Sidious took a step towards Thrawn. “Then, I will force you to relive it until your mind snaps and you beg for death, and then, I will kill you.”  
Thrawn took a step back and his mind raced. “No, I can’t.”  
“But you can. Isn’t he dying anyway? If you kill him, it would be a mercy.”  
Thrawn drew back farther and pressed himself against a wall. “No, I won’t.”  
Palpatine gave Thrawn a proud smile and Thrawn locked his red eyes with Palpatine’s blue ones. 

Sidious snarled. How dare that miserable little Chiss refuse?   
Summoning power, he pinned Thrawn to the wall he had retreated to and whirled on his twin. Tears of pride were tracking down that pale face and they infuriated Sidious further.  
“You can’t touch him, Sidious,” Palpatine spoke. “He has become a much better man than you can imagine.”  
Sidious unleashed the full force of Bogan on his frail twin.

Thrawn struggled with the binds of darkness that Sidious had put on him as lightning pierced Palpatine through. The shocks were merciless in their attacks and drove Palpatine through a series of writhing movements that could have killed him alone.  
Thrawn looked at Sidious and a wave of helplessness and fear washed over him. However, he soon realized not all of what he felt came from him. Sidious is afraid of something…  
Thrawn felt himself light with flames from the inside. If Sidious could fear, then he could be defeated. The binds fell off and he launched himself into the Dark Lord.

Sidious crashed into the wall with a stunned gasp and his lightning went out. Palpatine was barely alive, and Thrawn plucked him out of the hospital bed. With a last glance at the recovering Sith, Thrawn escaped from the small room and out into the corridors of Sidious’ base.  
Thrawn raced out into the jungle that surrounded the base. It was muggy and familiar. An extra spike of adrenaline went through Thrawn as he recognized the landscape: Jerrjerrodia.  
A lone cave promised shelter for a short time at least and Thrawn ducked inside.

Palpatine could still feel the lightning spearing his body. It was terrible, but he could also sense that it would be gone soon.  
Thrawn laid him against the curved wall of the cavern and brushed away the sweat and water that had collected on his face. “Father, are you all right?”  
Palpatine acknowledged the new title. “No, son, I’m not.”  
“I spent some time here once, I can find water.”  
Palpatine smiled. “My dear boy, always trying so hard. Rest for now… You need it. Soon I won’t.”  
Thrawn shook his head. “I’m not tired. I’m going to stay right here.”  
Palpatine sighed and reached for strength to speak. “We share an ability, you and I. Pyromancy. Sidious fears it.”  
Thrawn leaned over Palpatine so that he could hear every word. “Why?”  
“Because he cannot understand it. To use pyromancy, a Force-sensitive must have love in his heart. Because of this, it is the one ability in the Force that I chose to hone to a great degree of skill. Sidious might have taught you, but he would never have been able to use it himself.”  
Palpatine lifted his hands and Thrawn took them. Golden flames burst out of Palpatine’s hands and began racing up his arms to surround him in a corona of flames, they mingled with Thrawn’s own electric blue.

Thrawn watched Palpatine struggle to speak and he lifted him to his face so that he could hear.   
“For all it’s power, the dark has a weakness: Even the smallest candle flame can drive it back. Love is not a candle, love ignites the stars.”

Sidious picked a pair of firegems out of the ashes that were all that remained of his brother and his Acolyte. For the first time, he felt as if he had truly failed. Truly illogical: They were the ones who had died.  
Thrawn and Palpatine’s skulls leered at him; defiant still in death, and Sidious put out one foot and crushed both. He had no time for this nonsense; he had to get back to Coruscant soon.

Sidious entered his lab and began setting up a cloning cylinder. As an Acolyte, Thrawn was a failure, but he had been a great commander.  
A clone of Thrawn could be another great commander, and the DNA and the Flash-Learning tapes that Sidious had been wise enough to make would aid him in its creation. A few modifications had been made to the tapes, of course. This Thrawn would be a perfect servant for him.


End file.
